


Match Me Up

by syriala



Series: Teen Wolf 'Cest Appreciation Week 2019 [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Misunderstandings, Online Dating, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-11-29 13:57:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18224066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syriala/pseuds/syriala
Summary: Peter had never responded to his flirting, had never even indicated that he noticed Derek’s attempts, and Derek was getting desperate. He just wanted to be with Peter, and he was running out of ideas.The dating app was his last resort.





	Match Me Up

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Teen Wolf 'Cest Appreciation 2019 Day 2 - Dating App Mishaps

Derek was staring at his phone. He distantly thought that this might be a bad idea, the app had asked for his age several times now, and it made Derek nervous to lie about his age and pretend he was already over eighteen. But he was also determined, because he had seen Peter use this specific app, had seen him swipe left more than right, thank god, and Derek _had_ to set up his own profile.

Peter had never responded to his flirting, had never even indicated that he noticed Derek’s attempts, and Derek was getting desperate. He just wanted to be with Peter, and he was running out of ideas.

He hesitated a moment before he confirmed his sign-up and then he was officially the owner of a dating app profile. Derek guessed he was lucky it wasn’t Grindr or something else.

Derek had left his profile vague for now, because he didn’t know what would get him matched with Peter. The only things he had seen on Peter’s profile were his location and that he was looking for someone younger his own gender, so Derek added his own location and added that he was looking for an older man.

He had set his age at eighteen, seeing as that was the youngest you could be on the app, and he hoped that it was enough to get matched with Peter.

Derek was immediately matched with several guys, but he swiped left on all of them, after carefully making sure that they weren’t Peter. Derek had swiped left on almost twenty guys, losing hope already, before he got Peter as a suggestion.

He only hesitated a second before he swiped right, too excited to believe this was happening, and his heart almost tripped over itself when Peter had apparently swiped right on him, too.

Derek tried to tell himself that it didn’t mean much, because his profile pic deliberately didn’t show his face, just his chin and chest, and Peter could have swiped right for any number of reasons.

Derek checked out Peter’s profile as soon as he could, lingering a long moment over of the picture Peter used, because it was highlighting his blue eyes and thick neck and Derek was goddamn _weak_ for that, and then he quickly matched his profile to fit better to Peter’s.

Then he hesitated for a long moment over the message icon, because he wasn’t sure how to even start this conversation. He was awkward in real life, not good with words, and Derek knew that it translated through text as well.

And he desperately didn’t want to turn Peter off.

Eventually he clicked on the icon, and then he didn’t know what to write. He started a few times, typing out greetings in hopes of making a good first impression, but everything he came up with sounded stupid even too himself.

 _You’re a shy one, huh?_ Peter wrote him first, and Derek flushed when he realized that Peter could see when he was typing.

 _Kinda_ , Derek replied honestly and then smacked his forehead. This wouldn’t end well, Derek could already tell.

 _Adorable. I like that_ , came Peter’s reply and Derek’s heart fell.

Derek was shy in real life, too, and if Peter didn’t like that when it came to Derek, maybe he didn’t like Derek at all. No matter what Derek sometimes thought he smelled on Peter.

Derek didn’t quite know how to keep the conversation going, but Peter made it easy on him. He kept a steady stream of messages and questions going, teasing, flirty little things that made Derek blush on more than one occasion, but replying was a lot easier than coming up with something to say himself.

 _You ever been in love, little one?_ Peter asked him a few days later and it was so close to being called _pup_ by Peter that Derek’s heart ached.

 _Yeah_ , Derek admitted.

_Did you tell him?_

_No. I’ve tried to hint, but I think he doesn’t feel the same way about me,_ Derek wrote, and he was surprised at how much it hurt to finally put it into words that Peter didn’t want him back.

 _What an idiot_ , came Peter’s reply and Derek flung the phone onto his bed.

He wondered why he ever thought this was a good idea; how he had convinced himself that talking to Peter like this wouldn’t just hurt, but in the end, he sighed and retrieved his phone. Peter and he were close, always had been, but this was the first time they talked like this. Derek didn’t know if he could stop.

 _Are you still there?_ Was the last message Peter had sent and Derek quickly replied with a _Yes, sorry._

He faltered over his next question, but he wanted to know, he _needed_ to know, and he figured that after this he at least would know.

_Have you been in love?_

_Yes,_ Peter replied after a lengthy pause. _But it will never happen, so it doesn’t matter._

_It still matters._

_Maybe. Let’s not talk about it anymore._

Derek wanted to point out that it was Peter who had started this kind of questions, but he let it slide. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear more about this person Peter was in love with.

A small part of Derek hoped that maybe Peter was talking about him, but he didn’t dare to hope. He had been hoping for so long, and he was getting tired of it.

Still, he kept talking to Peter, kept responding to his flirting and teasing, and he refused to notice that Peter looked happier lately; smiled more and was almost glued to his phone. He acted like he was in love with _David_ as Derek had called himself on the app and Derek was torn between raging and yelling, and clinging to his phone just as desperately.

They had swapped more than one picture at this point, but Derek was always careful to keep his face out of his, and not to have any recognizable things in his background. Peter was understanding of that, hadn’t pressed Derek once he said that he didn’t feel comfortable putting his face out in the internet and that had been that.

Derek felt bad for deceiving Peter like that, and that feeling got worse the longer he kept the charade up, but as much as Peter obviously liked talking to him, Derek loved talking to him too. He didn’t want this to end.

It felt like Derek had gotten to know a Peter on the internet he hadn’t known before and it stung to know that Peter had kept so many parts of himself a secret from Derek. Peter had talked about going to college, getting a different degree than what he already had, pursuing his dreams, and Derek had never even known that Peter was unhappy in the pack, with his position, with what Talia asked of him. But now that he knew, it was hard not to just walk up to Peter and hug him and tell him to do what he wanted, what he loved; but Derek knew he couldn’t do that.

Peter had asked him once if Derek wanted to meet, but Derek had blocked that off as well, because he wasn’t ready to lose Peter. He didn’t know if he ever would be.

~*~*~

Derek screwed up on accident.

He noticed it as soon as he sent the picture, saw the telling family picture in the background and there was no way in hell Peter wouldn’t see it and wouldn’t put it together. It didn’t even matter that Derek still hadn’t shown his face.

Derek rushed to tug his pants back up, he had sent a picture with his sweatpants so indecently low they almost, barely, showed off the base of his dick, and put on a shirt again. Derek had just managed both of these things when Peter was already walking into his room.

He seemed tense and unhappy, phone clutched in one hand and Derek’s heart sank. He had lost every chance he might have ever had with Peter.

“What the fuck have you been doing?” Peter wanted to know, voice dangerously low and Derek couldn’t look at him.

“Talking to you,” he muttered, and he could hear the phone creak in Peter’s grip.

“You’re underage! Have you been putting your photos out there all this time? Do you even know how dangerous that is?”

At that Derek finally looked up, because Peter sounded worried and hurt more than he sounded angry.

“I saw you use the app. I just—I only talked to you on there,” Derek lowly explained, and he saw Peter’s eyes widen.

“You knew it was me all along. You had to, because _my face is right there in the picture_ ,” Peter snapped. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“I just wanted to talk to you,” Derek almost sobbed out. “You never responded to my flirting, you never even looked at me twice, and you had to know I want you. You could at least have told me off, but you _didn’t_ , and I didn’t know what else to do.”

“You kept this going for _months_ , Derek.”

“I love you. And you talked to me like you never did when you thought it was me, and I just. I wanted to never stop talking to you. I’m sorry,” Derek choked out and he curled up small on his bed, slung his arms around his legs and rested his head on his knees, closing his eyes and wishing desperately he could close his ears too.

“Oh, pup,” Peter whispered, and Derek heard him step close and he startled when Peter pushed his fingers through Derek’s hair, scratching lightly at the back of his neck.

“Don’t call me that,” Derek miserably said, and Peter huffed.

“Would you prefer it if I continued to call you little one?” Peter softly asked and Derek could feel rage well up in him.

“I want you to stop pretending like you care,” he yelled out and then his breath stuttered when Peter quickly sat down on the bed and pulled Derek into his arms.

“But I can’t,” Peter whispered into his hair. “I’m not pretending. I never have. I just didn’t realize you really wanted me. You’re a teenager, you’re supposed to want _everyone_.”

“I only want you, though,” Derek told him, and Peter kissed Derek’s temple.

“I’m beginning to see that,” Peter replied. “You know, I’m actually impressed. You were really sly, setting up a profile like that, specifically to match mine.”

Derek couldn’t help the small smile when he heard how proud Peter sounded, and he burrowed further into Peter’s chest.

“I didn’t really think you would continue to talk to me, though.”

“I love you, no matter where we talk. I always thought you seemed kind of familiar,” Peter admitted. “And I loved it, because I could _pretend_ that it was you.”

“You could always just talk to _me_ ,” Derek said with a pout, thinking back to all the things Peter had told him that Derek never even knew about.

“Derek, I love you and I thought you didn’t feel the same. Talking to you was never quite that easy for me.”

“Oh,” Derek breathed out and Peter chuckled.

“Yeah, sweetheart. Oh is right.”

“But—you can talk to me now,” Derek tried. “Because now you know, right?” Derek asked, afraid that Peter would still tell him no.

“Yeah, darling, now I know,” Peter gave back and nuzzled Derek’s cheek.

Derek pressed into the contact, smiled when he felt Peter’s lips all over the side of his face, and when Peter came close to his lips, Derek turned his head, meeting Peter’s lips with a low whine.

“Shh, it’s alright now, pup,” Peter whispered against his lips and Derek surged forward, pressing their lips together more firmly.

They didn’t really get to talk that day, but neither of them cared about that much.

 

 

 


End file.
